Serre, Friedrich Anton (1789 - 1863)

Friedrich Anton Serre (1789 – 1863)Litograph by Hanfstaengl based on a drawing by NaumannRobert-Schumann-Haus Zwickau

Serre, retired major, land owner and lord of the castle Maxen near Kreischa, belonged together with his wife Friederike to the circle of Schumann’s friends in Dresden. Serre played a big part in the founding of the German Schiller Foundation. The couple Serre was originally friends with Friedrich Wieck, who brought his daughter in 1837 to Maxen to avoid a reunion with Robert Schumann. The couple Serre, however, had a heart for the lovers, which doesn’t appear unusual, since the two philanthropists who also belonged to the German circle of friends and supporters of Hans Christian Andersen, set up various foundations for children in need, orphans as well as for abandoned animals. Robert Schumann dedicated his Arabesque op. 18 and his Blumenstücke op. 19 (Flower Pieces) to Friederike Serre, Clara set some of the poems of her motherly friend to music. (I.B.)